The school, a staple of the Normaltown area since 1954, was targeted May 13 by the U.S. Department of Defense for closure as a part of this year's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).

Defense Department closure recommendations are now in the hands of the independent nine-member Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission that is visiting bases nationwide and reviewing the recommendations.

If the recommendation stands, the Navy school would relocate to Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island.

Officials from Alabama, Tennessee and three other bases in Georgia will face the panel reviewing the Pentagon's plans to close some military installations and realign others in the states. It'll be their best and perhaps last shot to make a case for improving the fate of their bases.

"This is not an impossible task," said U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Republican who will make a pitch to save the Naval Air Station-Atlanta in his district. "We're not talking miracles here at all."

The three states are part of the same field hearing because of their regional proximity, but their agendas are far different.

Georgia also faces the closure of Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem, both in Atlanta.

"We hope to save four bases - that's our goal," said Gen. Philip Browning, head of the Georgia Military Affairs Coordinating Committee. "We have reviewed the arguments. They're good, compelling arguments, and we hope the commission agrees with us."

About 85 percent of bases that made the original list in the past have been shuttered, but a spokesman for the Base Realignment and Closure panel says it's impossible to set odds this time.

Alabama and Tennessee - spared major losses in the Pentagon's recommendations - will try to fend off minor cuts. Those two states also will be active in a separate discussion later Thursday concerning proposed changes for Air National Guard units.

U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., who will attend the morning session then head back to Washington for afternoon floor votes, said there won't be any prioritizing of one base over another. It's impossible to know what arguments will resonate.

"I would never tell the folks in Athens that we're going to concentrate on keeping you open, or keeping Fort McPherson open over the Navy supply school," Chambliss said. "You can't do that. We have a great story to tell about every single one of these bases."

Athens leaders first made a pitch against closing the Navy school in late May, when retired Adm. Hal Gehman, a member of the BRAC Commission, toured the school as part of a fact-finding mission to learn more about the base. Proponents met with Gehman after his tour and were optimistic.

The Navy school employs about 130 military personnel and more than 190 civilians, and has an annual payroll of $8.7 million, according to the Georgia Military Affairs Coordinating Committee, a statewide panel that is lobbying on behalf of military installations in Georgia. Each year, about 4,000 students pass through the Navy school, which provides supply, transportation and maintenance logistical training for the Defense Department and for international personnel.

Shortly after the Defense Department's announcement that it wants to close the local base, the Athens-Clarke Commission announced a 16-member authority to investigate redevelopment options.